[Astronomy] Settling in to a new (old) department

This evening marks the end of my first week in my new job. It's been a little odd at times, and a little frustrating at others, but I didn't expect it to be a cake walk. I'm cautiously optimistic though, and I think I'm going to enjoy working with alongside the astronomy group at Warwick.

Sadly, none of these buildings is the Physics department. But it's a nice panorama of part of the Warwick campus, so I'm using it. (Credit: en.wikipedia.org)

My first day at work was a weird one. It started with a meeting with my new boss, at 8:30am. I was anxious not to be late, so ended up rather early and sat in the foyer waiting for him to turn up. The 'meeting' turned into an hour and a half chat about my work, his work, what he thought I'd be contributing, the various projects I could get involved in, mutual colleagues/acquaintances, and general stuff. It was great, and really put me at my ease straight away. Then I was introduced to the few members of staff who were actually in (they even remembered me, which was nice), before I drove to the airport (via storage to pick up my P45). Why the airport you ask? Well, that would be because I had to go visit my actual employers in Belfast to sort out the paperwork!

I got a lunchtime flight over to Belfast, and my business there took the grand total of 20 minutes. I just handed over my passport and degree certificate to personnel for copies to be made, and gave in my finance details and P45 to accounts. Personnel wanted me to come back in a couple of days to sort out my card - apparently you need an appointment to get your photo taken with a webcam in Queen's! But when I pointed out that I was actually based in Coventry they managed to get me sorted out there and then, and said they'd post the card to me. It eventually made it to me earlier today. The rest of the day I spent in the library, after persuading the librarian at the desk to let me in. Fortunately they have Eduroam, so I was able to get some work done.

The rest of the week was spent sorting out admin mostly (or so it seemed). I got my card for Warwick on Tuesday, but had to wait until today for it to actually give me access to the one building I cared about - astronomy! Then there was sorting out my Warwick email account, key, and computing account, building my webpage, etc. etc. I still don't have an office yet, so I've been camping out in the cave or the PhD student office whilst I wait for a desk, which should be sorted on Monday. In between I even managed to get bits and bobs of work done here and there.

Bets on the number of times I'll mix these up in three years? I'm going with 'many'. (Credit: David Brown)

It's very strange being back at Warwick, but I don't think it will really sink in until I get the keys for my flat and move back to Coventry (commuting from Birmingham is a pain). The University hasn't really changed much for the most part. Sure, it's had a face lift here and there, but everything is oddly familiar and I keep getting deja vu. Then I'll turn a corner and notice something that's changed substantially. There are several new buildings, for example, including a new extension to Physics, but the weirdest bit was oddly enough the pedestrianisation of the area around the back of the Arts Centre. The mind is a mysterious thing.

So year, here I am for the next three years. It's odd being here again, but I think it's definitely better than it would have been if I'd stayed on for a PhD here. The four year gap in between has been just long enough for there to be a little continuation to help me settle in, but my role here is completely different. Which is what makes the difference I think. I'll see how I feel in a month or two!